The equine industry helps keep New Jersey green.Not only does the 96,000 acres of working horse farms help keep the “garden” in the Garden State, but the equine industry’s value at more than $3.5 billion helps keep the state rolling in a different kind of green, according to a new study released by the Rutgers Equine Science Center in New Brunswick.
The study reports that the state’s equine industry generates $1.1 billion annually in positive impact on the New Jersey economy.
Of the total impact, $647 million is generated by horse and horse farm owners, including almost $477 million of direct expenditures on such items as feed, forage, services, supplies, fees, trucks, trailers, other equipment, maintenance and taxes, and an additional $170 million “ripple effect” that is produced by those expenditures. The $3.5 billion worth of the industry includes the value of the horses and the land and buildings on and in which they are housed, according to a press release regarding the report.
Of the 176,000 acres of agricultural land occupied by the 7,200 equine operations in the state, 96,000 acres are directly related to equine activities and are home to 42,500 horses. In comparison, estimates put the total “agricultural working landscape” (actively productive farms) in New Jersey at 790,000 acres, meaning that horses and other equine animals are housed on more than one-fifth of the farmland in the state, according to the press release.
Of the 42,500 equine animals, 12,500 (nearly 30 percent) are in racing-related activities. These include 8,200 standardbreds and 4,300 thoroughbreds that are either actively racing or are racing breeding stock and current foals and yearlings, according to the press release.
In addition, the economic impact of New Jersey’s racing venues (The Meadowlands, Freehold Raceway, Monmouth Park Racetrack and Atlantic City Race Course), which were surveyed separately, is pegged at an additional $502 million annually. The value of racetrack land and buildings was not included in the study, according to the press release.
Dr. Karyn Malinowski, director of the Equine Science Center, said in the press release, “Far from an industry that some outsiders felt was dying, these numbers verify that the equine industry is very much alive and well.”
However, Malinowski also stated that the new report also suggests two “very important” points: the racing subset is an economic driver for the equine industry and it is no secret that racing is facing tough competition from neighboring states that have added gaming operations to their racing venues.
“Any further erosion of racing in New Jersey could have disastrous consequences for the state’s economy and the rest of the equine industry,” she said in the release.
The study, titled “New Jersey Equine Industry, 2007: Its Impact on the Economy, Agriculture and Open Space,” is based on an extensive survey of the equine industry conducted over the past year by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, a unit of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, combined with economic analysis and reporting by statisticians and economists affiliated with the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, part of Rutgers’ School of Biological and Environmental Sciences; and the Food Policy Institute, a unit of Rutgers’ New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES), according to the press release.
The study was led by the Equine Science Center, also a unit of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, and funded in part by New Jersey Strategic Initiative grants, the release said.
Those who participated in the study included the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s Equine Advisory Board and Sire Stakes Program; the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority; the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey; and the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association of New Jersey.
The study commenced last year with a survey mailed to nearly 10,000 horse and horse farm owners. Some 3,400 surveys were returned, and more than 2,000 were included in the data analysis, according to the release.
In addition, the National Agricultural Statistics Service employed site visits to 103 square-mile parcels distributed throughout the state to verify survey responses and locate equine operations that had not responded to the survey.
Other top findings of the study are as follows:
+ More than half (59 percent) of the equine operations house five or fewer equine animals. Eleven percent house more than 20.
+ A remarkable number of today’s horse farms previously were other types of agricultural operations. For example, 24 percent used to be cattle, dairy, poultry or other livestock facilities; 13 percent were in field crops, fruits or vegetables; and 18 percent were used for other traditional agricultural activities.
+ Almost 13,000 New Jersey jobs are generated by the horse industry, including 5,670 direct jobs on equine farms and operations, 2,080 direct jobs at New Jersey racetracks, and 5,220 additional employment in related industries.
Malinowski said a continuation of the study will produce several detailed reports from the survey data. She further stated that the center hopes to poll New Jersey residents to get a sense of their attitudes and feelings about horses, horse farms and the industry in general. She also said the Equine Science Center would work with municipalities, counties, the Legislature, horse groups and others to educate about the importance of the equine industry and the preservation of open space to the New Jersey economy.
In addition to Malinowski, Rutgers faculty and staff involved in the study include Dr. Paul Gottlieb, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES); Brian Schilling, Rutgers Food Policy Institute and NJAES; Kevin Sullivan, NJAES; and Diana Orban Brown, Equine Science Center and NJAES, according to the release. Technical advisers were Dr. Sarah Ralston, Department of Animal Sciences at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences; and Dr. Carey Williams, Dr. Joseph Heckman, Donna Foulk, and Bob Mickel, all of Rutgers Cooperative Extension and the NJAES. The National Agricultural Statistics Service team was headed by Troy Joshua, director of the New Jersey Field Office.